


In which Tony didn't call

by punygod



Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: College AU i guess, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:40:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punygod/pseuds/punygod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony probably should have remembered his face, if not his name. How can you even forget a body like Steve's?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Why am I here, Pep? Why?” Tony whined, pulling at Pepper’s jacket like a kid would do to his mother.

“Because art is interesting, and you’ll learn to love it,” Pepper said, shrugging off Tony’s grasp, “And I didn’t want to look like a loner and you were my last resort."

She walked over to what appeared to be the centre piece of the art exhibition. There was a scatter of people surrounding it, ranging from professional looking men in extravagant business suits who were obviously here to buy, to old ladies who didn’t seem like they’d be able to enjoy the artwork through their inch thick spectacles. 

While Pepper seemed deeply intrigued by the extenuated lines and modern twist of the masterpiece, Tony’s attention was caught by a gray-scale painting, tucked away into the corner of the hall. To avoid the crowd, if not anything else, Tony dragged his feet to this newly discovered painting. 

He could see why it hadn’t been placed in the centre of attention, but he thought it deserved a bit more recognition than it was receiving in the dark corner. It was a war scene, with men in uniform fighting not in a battlefield, but what looked like in New York City. There were skyscrapers in the background and, as Tony stared at the artwork for a while longer, he could find no opposing side; the men were fighting each other. He was lost in thought at the artist’s idea, and his eyes traced the dark and rough etches of the drawing, admiring, although with little knowledge about art to begin with, the artist’s simple and gripping style. 

His reverie was interrupted by a slight scuffle behind him, and he turned to see a sharp dark haired woman pulling a very reluctant looking blonde young man behind her. They looked slightly familiar, and Tony was sure he’d seen them around school somewhere. 

“Hello,” the girl said, approaching Tony, holding out her hand. 

Tony shook it, and with his usual flamboyance said, "Hi, I'm Tony."

“And I’m Peggy, nice to meet you. I think I’ve seen you around school before. Anyway, I see you’re interested in this piece. Would you like to meet the artist?” She said it with a bright smile, but Tony sensed something intimidating about it. 

“Er..yeah, sure-"

“Well here he is,” she said enthusiastically, and grabbed the guy who was teetering behind her nervously by his elbow and pushed him towards Tony.

He smiled awkwardly, a small blush creeping up into his cheeks. 

“Um..thanks for looking at my- at my art,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Tony smiled, trying to put the poor guy at ease. “It was a pleasure, really. I love the idea. I’m guessing you’re just having a jibe at the politics in this country. And the art? I don’t know much about it, but I know it should deserve some more limelight than this dingy ole corner. It was only by a lucky chance it caught my eye. Seriously. Kudos to you, er.. I didn’t quite catch your name?” he ended hesitantly, racking his brains trying to see if he could remember the guy’s name from school.

The other guy opened his mouth but didn’t answer, possibly out of shock, and trying to keep up with Tony's fast rambling.

“It’s Steve,” Peggy offered, “Steve Rogers. And I’ve been trying to tell him his art’s brilliant, but he’s just been crying for the past hour because no one’s been up to see it yet.”

“I haven’t been crying!” Steve hurriedly interjected. 

“You’ve been whining like annoying child all night. And you nearly had a heart attack when you saw..Tony..here, looking at it.” Peggy said smugly. 

If it was possible, Steve’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red. Tony really did feel bad for the guy. Peggy didn’t seem like the most compassionate friend in the world. Not that Tony knew much about being a good friend, he thought to himself bitterly.

“Well, I really do love it,” Tony said earnestly, and brilliant idea sprang into his mind. “You know what, I love it so much, I think I’ll buy it.” 

Peggy looked positively radiant, but Steve’s mouth just fell to the floor.

“No need to gawk, Stevey boy,” Tony said with a slight laugh, patting him lightly on the shoulder, “It’ll look great at the mansio- at my house, I mean.”

Steve snapped his mouth shut and stood up straighter, shrugging Tony’s hand off his shoulder. He suddenly looked very stiff.

“Thanks, Tony, for your very kind offer, but this piece is not for sale,” with that, Steve turned on his heel and walked briskly away, shoving his hands into his pant pockets.  
Tony passed a bewildered glance at Peggy.

“Isn’t it for sale?” he asked, “I thought that was the point of this exhibition?”

“It is,” Peggy said, looking equally bewildered, “I don’t know what’s gotten into him- and God knows we could use the money. That’s the whole reason Steve even spent weeks on this. I’m so sorry. I better go talk to him.”

“Yeah, talk some sense into him maybe. And the offer’s still up!” Tony called after her, as she ran after Steve. 

The rest of the evening seemed to go on forever, as Pepper dragged him from painting to painting, but the only thing on Tony’s mind was the curious incident of Steve and his artwork. As the night was drawing to a close, Tony offered to go get Pepper and himself drinks, and made his way over to the long table in the middle of the hall, draped in white with an assortment of refreshments placed upon it. 

As he reached the table he spotted Steve and Peggy also getting drinks, and was about to say hi and ask for news about their agreement when he realised they seemed to be in a heated argument. 

“Can we just drop this already?” Steve was saying, as quietly as his temper would allow him, so as not to disturb any bystanders, but his voice still carried over to Tony, who was guiltily listening in. 

“No. We can’t,” Peggy hissed back, “It’s your fault you took so long on that piece and it was placed so out of the way, so it’s by pure lucky coincidence that that kid even saw it and also happened to be delusional enough to want to buy it!” 

“Delusional? Do you even know who that kid is? That’s Tony Stark! Tony fucking Stark!”

“So what? He’s loaded. He wants to buy the painting. This might be the first month we’ll actually be able to pay the rent on time. What is your fucking problem? We need this!”  
“We do not need this. I’ll just find an extra shift at the factory. But I’m not taking money from Tony Stark. Do you really think he liked that painting? He saw us, he felt sorry for us, so he threw his money at us. That’s what he does. Call him a philanthropist, I don’t care, I don’t want his pity and I don’t want to get messed up with a guy like him.”  
“I can’t believe you, Steve!” Peggy said exasperatedly, “Since when have you let your fucking ego get in the way of anything?”

There was a pause.

“Since he fucked me and promised to call but didn’t, okay?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has a flashback..

Tony's hand faltered as he reached for a glass.

What?

Peggy didn't say anything. Steve let out a loud sigh.

"Forget it, let's just go, can we?" he said, taking her hand and pulling.

"Wait- _Tony Stark_ was that dick who didn’t call?" Peggy yanked her hand out of his.

"I- yeah, it was like a year ago, can we not-"

"You said his name was Fredrick or something."

"Well, you guys wouldn't have shut up about it if I'd told you it was Tony-"

"Yeah, and we would've been a whole lot less sympathetic. We blamed it all on "Fredrick," but you should've known better than to expect a call from Tony _Stark_."

By this point, Tony was really detesting how Peggy was starting to say his name like it was a curse. But the more he thought about it, the more of a particular memory came back to him. There was music, and drinks. Lots and lots of drinks.

"I know!" Steve was saying, "Believe me, I know how stupid it was. But it doesn't make it any less awkward, so please can we leave, and I promise I'll just get an extra night shift-"

_It had been right after him and Pepper had had a fight. She'd yelled at him for being irresponsible and inconsiderate, and that she was tired of having to throw out all the randoms she found in their apartment every Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning._

_With her words ringing in his head, and a failed research experiment which took months to build up sitting on top of that, he'd hit the bar he usually hit when he  felt this shit. He remembers Steve now, wearing a blue button down with the sleeves rolled up, sitting at the table looking like a kicked puppy while a couple of his friends were downing shots and being very loud._

_Tony feels like he missed a few hours and a few drinks because the next thing he remembers is leaning against a wall feeling incredibly drowsy, with Steve next to him, shouting over the loud music Steve's friends had ditched him for._

_"I guess she's right. But commitment's such a big word. It has so much baggage," he was saying._

_Steve was smiling softly over the lip of his beer. It was clear he hadn’t drunk half as much as Tony had, or he had but just handled liquor very well._

_"Commitment's not so bad," Steve yelled back, trying to be heard over the music, "Just a matter of who you commit with." He took a swig of his beer. And Tony downed another scotch._

_Another lapse in memory and Tony finds Steve and himself in the back of a cab. Steve's head is resting on the window, that small smile still creeping at his lips._

_"So you're telling me, you just broke up with your girlfriend of fourteen months, and you want to loosen up a little, and here's little ole me ready and willing?"_

_"You cannot be serious, Tony," Steve said, eyeing Tony incredulously, "You drunk half the liquor at that bar, I don't think you can stand up by yourself, let alone get me in your pants." He turned his head to stare back out the window._

_"I could!" Tony said, grabbing Steve's elbow. "I sooooo could get you in my pants, Steve." He'd picked up on the guy's name some time during the evening. Strange._

_"I thought you were tired of your one night stands?"_

_"If I call you tomorrow it won't be a one night stand," he said, grinning._

_Steve raised an eye brow. "You're still half assed drunk. You don't know if you really want this or not."_

_"Trust me, I know. I know I've wanted you since I first laid eyes on you tonight. You and your goddamn button down shirt." He reached across and grabbed Steve's said shirt, making to unbutton it or rip it off, whatever his drunken hands would allow._

_"I don't think so, Tony," Steve said pushing Tony's hand away. "You're not gonna remember any of this tomorrow, and I don't think I could handle that." His eyes widened a little as the last words left his mouth, as if he hadn't mean to say them.  
_

_Tony leaned back into his seat, put out. "Why?"_

_Steve remained silent, staring intently out the window, watching the city night rush past him._

_Tony poked Steve in the side. "Why can't you handle it?" he insisted._

_Silence.  
_

_"Steeve, do you like me, Steve?"_

_Steve worked his jaw, refusing to look at Tony._

_"Tony, I'm just going to drop you off at your apartment, okay? And then I'll get out of your hair." His voice was shaky, despite the rock hard set of his jaw._

_"Will you come up with me if I promise to call you tomorrow?" Tony half whispered. And Steve's shining blue eyes locked onto his as the cab came to a stop in front of Tony's building._

_~_

Shit.

How could he have forgotten? How could he have forgotten _Steve?_ He remembers the next morning when Pepper had patted his back proudly, glad that he was finally really taking on board the not sleeping around thing. Of course he couldn't refute her, because he hadn't _remembered a single damn thing that had happened that night._ Until now.

And now he remembers it all. Remembers why he had promised to call Steve. Because maybe the alcohol had made him desperate and horny and needy, but he had wanted to see Steve again. Wanted to know more than the fact that he'd broken up with a girl, wanted to know more than what was under his shirt. Wanted to know how a guy like Steve with his parted hair and collared shirt and partialty to committment had given him a buzz that night that had nothing to do with his blood alcohol content.

And he hadn't _fucking called._ He would have, if only he'd _remembered._

In the midst of beating himself up, Tony noticed Steve and Peggy finally leaving, heading towards the main hall. He should just leave them be. He should just let Steve live his life, let him move on from the incident that had happened over a year ago. It would be awkward and futile and utterly ridiculous for Tony to explain to Steve what had happened, because the explanation itself was highly unlikely to win Tony any points.

It was stupid to want Steve after a year of forgetting the guy even existed, stupid to think there was a hope Steve wanted _him_ after a night of being used for sex, or so it would appear to the poor guy.

Stupid it may all have been, but that didn't stop the crazy side of his brain squashing  his "don't do this, don't be selfish," side. This side, also happened to contain his dignity. He rushed through the exhibition hall, spotting Pepper and grabbing her arm and dragging her with him as he pushed through the fading crowd towards the mop of blonde hair and the brunette curls that accompanied it.

"I remember you!" Tony shouted, his voice carrying across the hall, over the idle chatter, which consequently ceased at  his outburst.

The blonde head turned around, and for the second time, Steve's startling blue eyes, met Tony's, wide in shock and confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's a little off. i wrote the first chapter with no intention of continuing it, so this chapter's just all over the place from me trying get it to make sense and make connections. hope you liked it anyway!  
> cheers :)


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